OfficeMax to open Chicago's 1st small format store this summer

New smaller-format locations to cater to small business

OfficeMax Inc. said it plans to open the first of its smaller format stores, called OfficeMax Business Solutions Centers, in Chicago later this summer.

The Naperville-based office supply retailer said Wednesday that it had finalized a lease at 550 St. Clair St. in Streeterville, to open a 3,900 square foot store designed to cater to small businesses.

This year, OfficeMax began rolling out a smaller version of its stores geared toward offering services, not only supplies to upstart businesses. The first stores opened were a 5,000 square foot store in Milwaukee in April and a 12,000 square foot store in Portland, Ore. Most of OfficeMax's traditional stores are between 20,000 and 25,000 square feet.

The small stores feature business advisers that will help businesspeople tailor products and services to their individual needs.

OfficeMax has been reducing the size of its stores since 2005 as it adjusts to a changing landscape in the office supply business where competition has heightened and demand has waned. Last year the company shuttered 46 stores and took a charge of $40.6 million for closings and severance costs. This year OfficeMax plans to close 15 to 20 additional stores and remodel and downsize others.

The company said it chose the Streeterville location for its first Chicago version of the smaller store because it is “easily accessible” with a high density of small businesses, “which are the target customer for this relationship-based retail format,” a company spokeswoman said in a statement.

OfficeMax, which announced plans to merge with rival Office Depot in February, is set to vote on that union next week.